Leanne Leadley

Linda Sepe

Linda says her experience as a breast cancer survivor at the Capital Health Center for Oncology allowed her the opportunity to witness firsthand what she calls an example of “great camaraderie and a great culture of communication.”

John P. Thurber

Vice President for Public Affairs, Thomas Edison State College

John P. Thurber is vice president for Public Affairs at Thomas Edison State College. His portfolio as vice president for Public Affairs includes responsibility for the College’s work in the areas of external affairs, advancement and college relations. He also serves as executive vice president for the Thomas Edison State College Foundation, Inc.

Mr. Thurber was the founding director of the College’s John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy and established its predecessor, the Trenton Office of Policy Studies. Under his leadership, this program received both the state and national Excel Award from the National Center for Public Productivity as a model program to enhance effectiveness in the public sector.

He received a B.A. in economics from Hampshire College in 1976. He received his J.D. summa cum laude from Rutgers University School of Law School in Newark, NJ in 1982. He was the recipient of the Justice Henry H. Ackerson, Jr. Prize for distinction in legal skills and was selected as research editor of the Rutgers Law Review.

Following law school, Mr. Thurber served as law clerk to the Honorable Harold A. Ackerman, district judge of the U.S. District Court for New Jersey. Thereafter, he served as assistant deputy public advocate with the Division of Public Interest Advocacy of the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate. In this capacity, Mr. Thurber litigated public interest cases involving community development, consumer fraud, rights of homeless persons, beach fee litigation, environmental protection, nuclear power plant licensing, insurance reform and other matters.

Mr. Thurber received the Shining Star Award from the American Cancer Society as well as the Program Development Award from the Leadership New Jersey Graduate Organization. He was selected as "Man of the Year" by the New Jersey Association of Family Food Centers for his work to improve access to emergency food assistance and the distribution of surplus food in the state. In addition to his membership on the Capital Health Board of Directors, Thurber is chairman of the Mercer County Improvement Authority, past president of the board of directors of the Trenton Downtown Association, vice chairman of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the boards of the Growth Partnership of Central Jersey, the American Cancer Society and the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation. He is an elder of Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ.